Okay so I am hopefully joining university soon, so I am looking for a cheap laptop for programming, I was thinking of getting a Chromebook, and upgrading the RAM and SSD, I of course will be using a Linux distro and I plan to be using tools like Lighttable and Eclipse, I was thinking for this a C7 with an extended battery would be better.
So would you recommend a chromebook, if so which one and how much ram would you put into it? I will more than likely be running Arch or Fedora maybe.
Thanks!
I'd get a thinkpad like this http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Thinkpad-20B20011US-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B00FU83YWS/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1413472545&sr=1-1&keywords=lenovo VERY Linux friendly. Just swap out a SSD and you're golden. Plus that keyboard is actually a joy to type on.
I like my HP Pavilion G7 with an APU. You can usually find them very cheap at Best Buy.
Mehhh. Hp's are not the most Linux friendly(although some run it fine) and have the worst failure rates and quality control in the industry. I trust Lenovo much more. Plus, Lenovo is much better for dev work, much comfier keyboard and it's guaranteed to play nice with Linux.
anything with an i3 or better is what i would get. dont get one with an amd apu. reason being is then you gotta run catalyst drivers to get full support. intel has great linux support and just is plug and play with linux. get some asus or acer one.
also no i would not recommend a chromebook. from what i have read online they are difficult to get a different operating system on.
What do you mean by "full support"? Intel's open source driver gets a greater portion of the hardware's potential 3D performance, but a Richland A8 or above is still faster.
My rule would be: if you can get an Intel quad-core within your price range, go for it. Otherwise get AMD.
+1 LordOfTots advice.
Lenovo Thinkpad - T series if you can.
Reason - Linux friendly plus they have Fkeys without Fn key and Fn key for PgUp/Dn is in a decent location for programming.
Chromebooks have the worst keyboard ever designed - stay away :P
I disagree with quality control (although I didn't think about the whole graphics card drivers thing, that's a good point). I've dealt with multiple HP machines and they've all been great. I only had one die and it was because the owner abused it (after dropped 4-5ft multiple times and being shaken about in a car you'd expect SOMETHING to go wrong)
Well I was looking at a Thinkpad 11e, I wanted it for the portability, and the fact it was Lenovo.
Anyways I currently have a Asus X552EA AMD A4 5000 1.5Ghz quad core, 8GB 1600Mhz RAM, Samsung 840 evo 120GB.
So is it worth getting another laptop? the problem with this laptop is the graphics chip in RPM distros, they just do not get along at all, after a while it just causes a white border and hangs the system.
..."So is it worth getting another laptop?"
Make do with what you have until you "need" to upgrade, then perhaps look at getting a high end Lenovo.
may do, but for future reference, what specs would you suggest? i5? I would prefer Intel over AMD for Linux, just less hassle really :)